Nine-year-old Ihor* loves making videos.
On his YouTube channel, he films the small wonders of everyday life: street cats wandering through alleyways and birds fluttering above rooftops. His videos are so engaging that he has already gathered more than a thousand subscribers.
He loves reading so much that sometimes his grandmother has to remind him to rest his eyes.
But although Ihor is still young and full of life, he has already experienced things no child should have to face.
A childhood changed in an instant
Five years ago, Ihor lived in a city in the south of Ukraine with his mother.
One day, she died suddenly. Ihor spent more than twelve hours alone beside her before a neighbour discovered him and took him to hospital.
Without family to care for him, Ihor could easily have been placed in an orphanage. But his grandmother Oksana* stepped forward immediately.
Oksana had grown up in an orphanage herself. She knew first-hand how difficult life inside an institution can be for a child. She was determined that her grandson would never have to experience that.
But bringing Ihor home wasn’t simple.
“I needed to have all the documents completed,” Oksana explains. “I had two weeks to do it all. They couldn’t let him move until I had all the documents. If I hadn’t been there, he would have gone to an orphanage.”
Eventually, the paperwork was completed and Ihor was allowed to leave the hospital with his grandmother.
Within weeks, he began calling her “mother”.
When war destroyed their home
In 2022, war reached their city.
Missile strikes became part of daily life. Then one day, a rocket destroyed the flat where Ihor and his grandmother were living.
“When the rocket hit, we became homeless,” Ihor recalls.
With nowhere left to stay, they were forced to leave their home and travel to another town to find somewhere to live.
Help families stay together during conflict
War and displacement put enormous pressure on families. When support systems collapse, children are at greater risk of being separated from the people who love and protect them.
You can help protect children affected by conflict.
Donate today to help keep families together.
Support that helped them rebuild
After Ihor and his grandmother lost their home, life was incredibly difficult.
They had little income, few connections and almost no support network.
That’s when our team found them.
We work around the world to ensure children grow up in safe, loving families – and never orphanages. We provide tailored support for every family that we work with to keep them together and stop children from being separated from the people who love them.
Our case manager Svitlana began supporting Ihor and Oksana.
One of the first things she noticed was the condition of their beds. The mattresses were rotten and sagging so badly they could barely sit on them, let alone sleep comfortably.
On her next visit, Svitlana brought food and brand-new mattresses.
She also began helping the family address Ihor’s health needs. Ihor has a condition affecting his legs and will need surgery later this year. Our team is supporting the family with medical appointments and preparations for the operation.
Step by step, life is becoming more stable again.
“Your organisation helped us a lot,” Oksana says.
“Activities for children for one thing. You brought us a mattress, a blanket and a thermos cup, which will be good for the hospital. Then your psychologist comes to us, Daria is so good. She brings in games and different sweets.”
Why family matters
Across the world, millions of children are separated from their families and placed in orphanages – even though 80% of children in orphanages aren’t actually orphans. They have family who could care for them, they just need the right support.
Decades of experience and research shows that children grow up best in families, where they receive the love, stability and protection they need.
That’s why we work with families, communities and governments to prevent family separation, reunite separated children with relatives and help close orphanages for good.
Because every child deserves to grow up surrounded by love.
Looking towards the future
Today, Ihor is still making videos. Still watching birds fly over rooftops. Hopeful for the future.
And he’s doing it with the person who loves him most – his grandmother.
Around the world, 1 in 6 children are living through conflict. They’re at risk of losing the families who protect them.
With the right support, families can stay together, even during the most difficult times.
Donate today to help protect children affected by conflict and keep families together.
Together, we can help more children grow up where they belong: with a loving family.
*Names have been changed to protect identities.
